Academic Honor Code

To support the Baker College Academic Integrity Philosophy, the Academic Honor Code provides a framework which ensures an ethical, honorable, and responsible environment is sustained for all students. Baker College requires that work for which students receive credit be entirely the result of their own effort. Acting honorably in an academic setting requires more than simple honesty. Academic dishonesty takes place whenever students undermine the academic integrity of the institution or attempt to gain an unfair advantage over others. Lack of awareness of the College’s honor code is not accepted as a valid excuse for prohibited conduct.

The following list includes some examples of honor code violations; they are not intended to be exhaustive.

1) Cheating

1. Using unauthorized materials such as books, notes, crib sheets, or electronic devices to answer examination questions
2. Taking advantage of information considered unauthorized by one’s instructor regarding examination questions
3. Copying another student’s homework, written assignments, examination answers, electronic media, or other data
4. Assisting or allowing someone else to cheat

2) Plagiarism

1. Representing the ideas, expressions, or materials of another without due credit
2. Paraphrasing or condensing ideas from another person’s work without proper citation
3. Failing to document direct quotations and paraphrases with proper citation

3) Other Forms of Academic Dishonesty

1. Fraud, deception, and the alteration of grades or official records
2. Changing examination solutions after the fact; inventing, changing, or falsifying laboratory data or research
3. Purchasing and submitting written assignments, homework, or examinations
4. Reproducing or duplicating images, designs, or webpages without giving credit to the developer, artist, or designer
5. Submitting work created for another course without instructor approval
6. Misrepresenting oneself or one’s circumstance to gain an unfair advantage
7. Collaborating with another person(s) without instructor approval
8. Selling or providing term papers, coursework, or assignments to other students
9. Posting, uploading, using, or exchanging term papers, coursework, tests, or assignments to/from an Internet site

There are four possible consequences for violating Baker College’s honor code:

1. Failure of the assignment
2. Failure of the course
3. Expulsion from the College
4. Rescinding a certificate or degree

Determination of the grade and the student’s status in the course is left solely to the discretion of the instructor. The faculty may seek guidance from College administrators who will establish, investigate, or determine potential patterns of dishonesty. All honor code violations are noted in student records.

A student is prohibited from withdrawing from a course in which an F grade is received due to a violation of the honor code. A student cannot appeal a grade if the sole basis for the appeal is contingent upon overturning an academic dishonesty decision. A student may, however, appeal a grade based on the criteria outlined in the Academic Appeal Process. Should the student choose to appeal the consequences of the Academic Honor Code violation, the student would use the Disciplinary Appeal Process.